I was in need of some motivation this weekend. I remembered this quote by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.“

I think this is true to some extent. I also think there are more mundane reasons to be afraid of standing out. Personally, I hate disappointing people. I have a tendency to play down my achievements in part because I don’t want people to expect the same again – and for me to let them down.

On top of that, there are the memories of all the things I planned to do that never happened, all the rejections, all the dead ends (for some reason, they seem a lot easier to remember than the successes). And when starting on a new path, I begin to feel the inevitability of this path ending up in the same place as those others. As Don McLean sang, “You know I’ve heard about people like me, but I never made the connection. They walk one road to set them free, and find they’ve gone the wrong direction.”

But that’s life.

I think the point is to keep walking along those roads and not worry to much about where you end up; just make the most of the journey.

So, here is a little reminder to get over the fear and get on with living, doing the best I possibly can for my own sake, not for anyone else’s.